Thatcher made racist comments citing Indian migrants

London: Australia's Foreign Minister Bob Carr has accused late former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher of making "unabashedly racist" comments, where she said Australia will become "like Fiji where Indian migrants have taken over".

Labor Party senator Bob Carr claims his wife Helena - who is Malaysia-born - was "standing not far away" when Thatcher allegedly made the controversial comments, the Daily Mail reported.

Carr made the comments in a TV interview from China. But the daily said his claims could not be verified.

"I recall one conversation I had with her (Thatcher) in her retirement where she said something that was unabashedly racist," Carr told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

'Iron Lady' Margaret Thatcher Dies at 87

Most recent Thatcher obituary

 Margaret Thatcher, 

Iron Lady, dead at 87

By Gregory Katz and Robert Barr 

LONDON _ Love her or loathe her, one thing's beyond dispute: Margaret Thatcher transformed Britain. The Iron Lady who ruled for 11 remarkable years imposed her will on a fractious, rundown nation _ breaking the unions, triumphing in a far-off war, and selling off state industries at a record pace. She left behind a leaner government and more prosperous nation by the time a mutiny ousted her from No. 10 Downing Street.

Thatcher’s former spokesman, Tim Bell, said that the former prime minister had died Monday morning of a stroke. She was 87.

For admirers, Thatcher was a savior who rescued Britain from ruin and laid the groundwork for an extraordinary economic renaissance. For critics, she was a heartless tyrant who ushered in an era of greed that kicked the weak out onto the streets and let the rich become filthy rich.

"Let us not kid ourselves, she was a very divisive figure," said Bernard Ingham, Thatcher's press secretary for her entire term. "She was a real toughie. She was a patriot with a great love for this country, and she raised the standing of Britain abroad."

Thatcher was the first _ and still only _ female prime minister in Britain's history. But she often found feminists tiresome and was not above using her handbag as a prop to underline her swagger and power. A grocer's daughter, she rose to the top of Britain's snobbish hierarchy the hard way, and envisioned a classless society that rewarded hard work and determination.